Title

Author

Keywords

Domestic violence; children in domestic violence; police reports; police and children

Abstract

Household violence that involves children can be complicated situations to understand and describe for police responding to calls. Police reports are important in prosecuting cases by informing and reminding criminal justice personnel of what occurred in incidents, and inconsistencies between reports and accounts by involved persons can result in credibility loss and case dismissal (Gregory et al. 2011). Little research has been conducted on the construction of police reports, particularly in domestic violence cases involving children. This study uses three years of domestic violence police reports from a sheriff office*s database in Florida to distinguish information recorded for three types of domestic violence cases: adults only, children involved, and children present. Using a social constructionist criminologist perspective, recorded information in regards to victims, offenders, and violence mentions differ by the level of children*s involvement in cases. Discrepancies in report quality and details are important to social policy, as officers* perceptions of the involved individuals and resources, such as medical attention and injury photography, are guided by social narratives and stereotypes that can be improved through awareness and training.

Notes

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